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Three Arrested In Poteau Meth Investigation

An eight-month investigation into a methamphetamine-trafficking operation netted three arrests Thursday at a residence in Poteau.

Octavio Gutierrez, 25, of Poteau was arrested on suspicion of felony conspiring to traffic methamphetamine, trafficking methamphetamine and delivery of methamphetamine. Wheston Jones, 23, and Samuel Jones, 21, both of Sallisaw were arrested on suspicion of felony possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, said Mark Woodward of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics.

Authorities with the OBN, Poteau Police Department and Oklahoma District 16 Drug Task Force enacted a search warrant at a residence in the 100 block of Teakwood Drive in Poteau at about 6:30 a.m. Thursday, Poteau Police Chief Stephen Fruen said.

The bust was the result of a collaborative investigation that the three agencies began in July, Woodward said.

“Certainly, they had a reputation for being able to supply meth to the people out in LeFlore County, in Poteau and possibly into Arkansas and other parts,” Woodward said.

Undercover detectives with the OBN conducted controlled buys at the residence, which led them to the arrests, Woodward said. Investigators believe the group was distributing meth they received from outside the state, rather than manufacturing it themselves.

“(Gutierrez) was kind of the main target, the main supplier,” Woodward said. “We’ll continue to do interviews — it’s still ongoing. More arrests are possible. We want to obviously work it as far as we can to see if these people can give up other names or sources that maybe we didn’t identify in the last eight months.

“We certainly know there’s more people involved,” Woodward said. “Obviously there are groups that bring the meth into Oklahoma; oftentimes, it’s sourced through Texas after it’s gotten across the border. We think we’ve got the main individuals who were responsible here in Oklahoma … but you always want to find out, ‘Who was his source?’”

Woodward said authorities took extreme precaution, and that violence is always a concern with drug-related arrests.

“It went very smoothly. You always worry about that when you’re talking about meth,” Woodward said. “Any time drugs are involved we take a lot of precaution. We were very fortunate nobody was injured this morning.”

All three agencies collected information from the public, which sparked the investigation, Woodward said.

“We’re always hopeful this will spur other calls,” Woodward said. “The main thing is, you send a message to people selling drugs and also to the community that if they suspect drugs, they’ve got an agency, a police department and a task force that will aggressively work to go after them. So we don’t want the public to hesitate calling us if they suspect that there’s more activity going on.”